In modern sow husbandry, it is known to house large numbers of sows within a single large pen. Group pens allow the animals to socially interact, displaying natural behaviours. However, difficulties can arise during feeding, in particular with respect to competition between sows at a common feed trough. In response to this problem, feeding modules may be provided that permit individual sows access to feed isolated from other sows. Feeding stations such as the NEDAP™ sow feeding system provide an enclosure for an individual sow having entrance and exit gates controlled by mechanical or pneumatic actuators, a feed trough located within the enclosure and a feed dispenser for dispensing feed into the trough. The feed dispenser may be controlled for dispensing a selected amount of feed to an individual sow identified by an RFID tag or by other means that allow the feed to be dispensed to each sow. The enclosure is more or less fully enclosed to isolate the sow during feeding, while permitting sow to remain in the group pen environment at other times.
Similar to the above are the COMPIDENT™ and MANNEBECK™ electronic sow feeding systems. A sow enclosure for feeding sows within a large pen facility is also described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,132,538 to Schick et al.
Feeding Systems management software such SOWCHOICE SYSTEMS™ ESF by PIGCHAMP™ allows farmers to tailor the nutritional requirements of sows to their individual requirements, taking into account a variety of factors.